Delimitation May Weaken Smaller States’ Voice, Says Manpreet Singh Ayali

Akali Dal ‘Waras Punjab De’ leader and Mullanpur Dakha MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali has said that Punjab should not be penalised for successfully controlling its population. He called for equal representation for all states in the Rajya Sabha and urged the government to seek a constitutional amendment to protect the interests of smaller states. Raising the issue in the Punjab Legislative Assembly, Ayali said the proposed delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies on the basis of population could increase the representation of states with larger populations. He said this could disturb the existing balance of representation among states and make it necessary to ensure a stronger and more balanced representation of states in the Rajya Sabha. Ayali urged the Punjab government to pass a resolution in the Legislative Assembly and approach the Centre for a constitutional amendment. He said every state should have equal representation in the Upper House irrespective of its population so that the interests of smaller states could be adequately protected. According to Ayali, the proposed delimitation exercise and a possible increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats could further alter the existing political balance between states. He said that increasing representation solely on the basis of population could weaken the political voice of smaller states. Equal representation in the Rajya Sabha, he argued, would help ensure that larger states do not dominate smaller states in the federal decision-making process. Ayali pointed out that Punjab currently has only seven seats in the Rajya Sabha, compared with 31 seats for Uttar Pradesh. He said that if delimitation is carried out on the basis of population, the representation of larger states could increase further, potentially weakening the voice of smaller states. Referring to federal systems in the United States, Switzerland and Australia, Ayali said these countries provide equal representation to their constituent states or federal units in their respective upper houses. He cited the example of the US Senate, where California, with a population of around 3.9 crore, and Wyoming, with a population of only about six lakh, have the same number of representatives. He said similar arrangements exist in Switzerland and Australia, where representation in the upper houses is not determined solely by population and the states receive equal representation. Ayali said Akali Dal ‘Waras Punjab De’ has been advocating greater powers for states and a stronger federal structure for a long time. He maintained that equal representation of states in the Rajya Sabha would enable smaller states to raise their issues more effectively at the national level. Meanwhile, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) had also demanded on Saturday that Parliament immediately pass the Women’s Reservation and Delimitation Bills to ensure a fair and reasonable increase in the number of seats for all states.